Nokia Sirius tablet detailed, priced to take on the iPad

Nokia's first ever tablet looks highly likely to launch at an event in New York at the end of September, and we're finally getting a clear picture of what to expect.

Sources in the know have confided in The Verge that the tablet, codenamed Sirius, will be priced to compete with the Apple iPad, and will come with a 10.1in display, and Windows RT.

The mention of Microsoft's tablet-specific OS and the iPad in the same breath will no doubt have the anti-RT brigade up in arms, but let's move on all the same, as there's a fair bit of detail to report – much of it completely new.

The Verge's sources reckon the Sirius will look quite a bit like Nokia's Lumia smartphones – something we've expected all along, and which was hinted at by a blurry prototype shot leaked recently – plus it will be both thinner and lighter than the current iPad.

Nokia's tablet debutante will come with a 10.1in display with a full HD, 1920 x 1080 resolution, we're told, and the display will have ultra-bright capabilities for use outdoors.

In line with other rumours we've heard recently, we're told Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor will do the heavy lifting, supported by 2GB of RAM, and the cameras will offer 6MP and 2MP resolution shooting – clearly this ain't no PureView tablet.

Storage will be 32GB plus anything you wish to add via microSD card, while microUSB and micro-HDMI ports will also be on board. Nokia is reportedly aiming for an impressive 10 hours of battery life when the Sirius hooked up to LTE, and as we've heard previously, you'll be able to add to that with a keyboard-equipped cover accessory with its own battery.

Price-wise, The Verge's sources are talking iPad levels, so we'd assume in the region of £579 for the LTE model with 32GB of storage.

Nearly £600 for a Windows RT tablet? That's the first thing a lot of people will surely say if that's indeed the kind of price Nokia is looking at. Could be a seriously tough sell.

Nokia's redeeming strategy bits have been solid WP budget devices and classy flagship cameras. Neither come into play here. They might as well use webOS or Symbian in a tablet - at leased those weren't banned by German authorities for being NSA Trojans...